New Courses for Fall 2013

Friday, August 9, 2013

The Divinity School will offer two new courses in Fall 2013 representing work in the overlapping fields of theology, philosophy, and the arts.

“The (Theological) Aesthetics of the Image,” taught by Duke English and German Professor Thomas Pfau, will examine texts on images and the sacred, from Plato’s Republic, to the Revelations of St. Julian Norwich, to the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins. With a demanding and invigorating syllabus, covering classical and Christian texts in multiple genres, this advanced course will offer a rich and rigorous exploration of how we understand and encounter visual artifacts.

DITA’s postdoctoral associate, Daniel Train, will also teach a new seminar, “The Theological Imagination of Flannery O’Connor.” The course will offer a comprehensive overview of the American Southern writer’s stories, letters, and essays, paying special attention to the key theological, philosophical, and literary sources that O’Connor engaged throughout her career. The course will require some previous background in theology, and seeks to “apprentice” students as ministers, teachers, writers, and theologians to O’Connor’s own interpretive and literary craft.

These courses reflect the growing interest in theology, philosophy, and the arts at Duke.